Vaatsalya Hospitals: Affordable Healthcare in Proximity

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Vaatsalya is a for-profit chain of hospitals and clinics which aims to provide quality healthcare to semi-urban and rural areas and was started by doctors-turned-entrepreneurs Ashwin Naik and Veerendra Hiremath in 2005.

70% of India’s population lives in semi-urban and rural areas. 80% of Healthcare facilities in India are in urban areas. Vaatsalya is bridging this gap by building India’s first network of hospitals focused on semi-urban and rural areas. Vaatsalya builds and manages hospitals/clinics in semi-urban and rural areas, providing primary and secondary care with an emphasis on prevention, offering services which can usually only be found in large cities at affordable prices.

Vaatsalya keeps costs down by specializing in three areas: pediatrics, gynecology and surgery. It also leases, rather than purchases, land for its hospitals and private rooms lack luxury items like cable television. Vaatsalya pays most of its doctors are consultants based on a revenue-sharing model, incentivizing them to work harder than they would at at a public hospital for the potential to earn higher pay.

Vaatsalya hospitals are run as commercial entities that receive no charitable grants or subsidies. For their pioneering work in the area of inclusive healthcare, Vaatsalya and its founders have been receiving several national and international awards. Winner of Sankalp Award for Social Enterprise 2009, Vaatsalya is revolutionizing the way the healthcare industry is structured in India. The company is planning to open 50 additional hospitals over the next five years.